Early Pessimism about the New Republican Congress

Only two days into 2011 and with two days until the Republicans actually take over the House of Representatives, here’s a story from Fox News that pessimistically poses the Republicans as likely failures: they won’t get along with Obama; they will under-deliver on their promised cuts; they won’t be able to maintain discipline even within their own ranks; and the economy could collapse if they don’t figure something out.

While that’s all probably true, the article presupposes that government gridlock and inaction is automatically a bad thing. The American people did not vote for partisan cooperation in November, they voted for gridlock! Divided partisan government has been a hallmark of US politics since the 1950s, with a few exceptions here and there. The American people don’t like power-crazed partisans without checks. We voted for checks.

The premise and attitude of this piece is skewed unlike what one usually reads on Fox. New direction or under-paid holiday staff? Neither, I hope. Upon closer inspection, though, this is in fact an AP article Fox just republished as a headline story. Weak, Fox News, very weak.